


To Kill Your Weaknesses

by Sheyamiku



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27252400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheyamiku/pseuds/Sheyamiku
Summary: As a child, Bellatrix was neither loved, nor appreciated. As a Death Eater, she feels like she has finally gotten her revenge on life. It did, however, come at a price.
Relationships: Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	To Kill Your Weaknesses

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING!  
> This ONESHOT refers to events and characters that I invented and only exist in my longfic "Andromeda's Galaxy". If you have not read "Andromeda's Galaxy", you will be confused. If you are reading "Andromeda's Galaxy" but haven't reached the "Awakening" chapters yet, you will be spoiled.  
> If you have read "Andromeda's Galaxy", thank you, I hope you liked it and will try to update it soon ^^  
> Enjoy!

Bellatrix started massaging her temple as Alecto Carrow took out her wand to yell vaguely defined threats at an amused-looking Edward Wilkes. She shut her eyes tightly when the yells increased in volume. Great Salazar did she wish Alecto had not been her one dormmate to follow her into the Death Eaters’ organisation, if one dormmate there had to be.

Bellatrix grimaced as she realised that none of the other girls would have, in fact, been a better pick. Rita Skeeter was a pathetic, nosy little mouse. Sunita Varapu was an unambitious, uninspired sloth. Sophie was… dead. Bellatrix had killed her.

“ _You liked her well enough when she was alive…,_ ” whispered a little voice in her head.

Bellatrix snorted out loud. “ _Not well enough to not kill her, apparently._ ”

“ _Kill her, yes… Why did you kill her?_ ”

Bellatrix frowned. “ _I had to. She was a threat._ ”

“ _To whom? To you? You know she would have kept her mouth shut if you had let her live. She would have sided with you, like she said she would. You wouldn’t even have had to use the Imperius Curse anymore._ ”

“ _We don’t know that._ ”

“ _Come now. You know we know that. Sophie was a clever girl, but never a heroic one. To stay alive, she would have lied for you and stayed by your side. She would have made sure your side won._ ”

“ _Maybe…_ ”

“ _So why did you kill her?_ ”

Bellatrix had to pause and think. She started picking at her black nail polish while looking absentmindedly at the wall on the opposite side of the room.

“ _The Dark Lord wanted her dead._ ”

She stopped picking at her nail polish.

“ _The Dark Lord wanted her dead…_ ”

Her hands started quivering.

“ _Were you scared for your life? Did you kill her to protect yours?_ ”

She linked her fingers together to stop the tremors.

“ _No. I killed her so that he would trust me. I killed her to climb up the ranks._ ”

“ _Do you regret it?_ ”

“ _What?_ ”

“ _Killing her?_ ”

“ _No._ ”

“ _Do you regret that she died?_ ”

Bellatrix paused once more. The trembling stopped. She clenched her jaws.

“ _Yes…_ ”

‘Has that wall disrespected you, Bella? You’ve been glaring so hard I’m surprised it hasn’t melted yet,’ growled a man in Bellatrix’s ear.

Bellatrix jumped and pulled her wand out of the pocket of her robes and planted it under the man’s hairy chin. The man froze. Bellatrix looked up.

‘ _Rodolphus_ ,’ she spat, gnashing her teeth.

Hands up on either side of his head, Rodolphus gazed down and started laughing when his blue eyes, twinkling with amusement, met her black ones. Slowly he let his hands down and pushed away the wand she was still brandishing.

‘I did not mean to startle you,’ he said, grinning.

‘But you _did_ , and if it happens again, I will not hesitate before throwing a curse.’

Rodolphus rolled his shoulders back to tower over her with all his height. ‘You should not have been startled in the first place,’ he said quite seriously. ‘If we had been out on a mission you could have died.’

Bellatrix cocked her head and let out a humourless snort. ‘Are you trying to _lecture me_ , Rod?’

Rodolphus frowned. ‘Trying to help you.’

‘Bollocks,’ spat Bellatrix. Leaning back, she let a crooked smirk part her lips. ‘You’re trying to regain some sense of superiority over me. After all, I’ve always shown better results than you have and the Dark Lord favours me. My ascending to a post of greater responsibility in the near future seems inevitable, but for you, everything is still up in the air. And you don’t like that, do you?’

‘The Dark Lord has only ever been satisfied with my work –’

‘Satisfied. Not impressed. You know that makes a huge difference.’

Rodolphus clenched his jaws. ‘I don’t care,’ he growled between barely parted lips.

Bellatrix threw her head back and laughed.

‘You don’t care?’ she repeated once she had calmed down. ‘But you should, Roddy. Complacence is terribly unattractive.’

A look of confusion passed through Rodolphus’s features. He opened his mouth but Bellatrix forestalled him.

‘You and I are getting married, Rodolphus,’ she said. ‘And I won’t have my husband open doors for ever while I thrive through the ranks. It would be unbearably and unforgivably crippling to my success. Understood?’

Rodolphus glared at her.

‘Understood?’ she repeated louder.

Rodolphus grind his teeth so furiously Bellatrix could hear the sound of grating. ‘Understood,’ he replied.

She sniggered and sighed contentedly.

‘See?’ she said, rising on her tip-toes to throw her arms around his neck and grasp the scruff at his nape. ‘I will enjoy having you as my husband.’ Sliding her lips next to his ear she whispered, ‘Will you like having me as your wife?’

She pulled back to look into the blue of his eyes. He was still glaring, his jaws still clenched, but when their eyes met, he lowered his head and growled in agreement. Bellatrix laughed and pressed her lips to his, kissing him vehemently and enjoying the itch of his beard against her skin and the warmth of his hand sliding a little too low on her back. They were in public, she knew, but she did not care. Without breaking away, she grabbed Rodolphus by the ears and lowered herself on the plant of her feet so that he was forced to bend over as he kissed her. And he kissed her with as much passion as she gave, so that he was almost doubled over with her in his arms when finally they broke apart to catch some air.

Panting, Bellatrix tapped onto Rodolphus’s shoulder, indicating for him to back away. His eyes had darkened and his jaws were still clenched and for a second, she thought he would refuse. After a grunt, however, he did as he was told and took a step back. Bellatrix watched him and laughed again.

‘My perfect man,’ she said, caressing his beard.

He shivered slightly but did not react. She winked and turned on her heel. She headed towards the exit, all too aware of the dozen pair of eyes sticking to her like lice, but she paid them no attention. Their staring did not bother her. On the contrary. She wanted them to see. She wanted everyone to see her, happy and in control.

The flashing image of her parents dampened her mood. But as she opened the door and stepped into the darkness of the night, she realised that she had won. Vengeful satisfaction lit her face in the form of a smile and she looked up at the stars above her.

She had won. Her parents had ignored her ever since she was a child. They hated her for being too loud and wild. They had wanted nothing more than to throw her away, she was certain, and never have to set eyes on her again, but instead they kept her and made her feel like a burden to them. Well, now, amongst the Death Eaters, she was indispensable, a key player, an irreplaceable component. The Dark Lord favoured her fiery nature and rewarded her for it. Amongst the Death Eaters she had found power, and the burden was now her father who slowed her progress with the Dark Lord and kept revealing his weaknesses. She, Bellatrix, had killed her weaknesses.

Except, maybe, two. Her sisters.


End file.
